Custer Finishes 29th at Las Vegas
Dixie Vodka Greyhound Cocktail Ford Team Struggles With Ill-Handling Racecar

Date: Sept. 26, 2021
Event: South Point 400 (Round 30 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway(1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)
Start/Finish: 28th/29th (Running, completed 265 of 267 laps)
Point Standing: 28th with 453 points
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Cole Custer started 28th and finished 30th.

● The No. 41 Dixie Vodka Greyhound Cocktail driver reported early in the run that his Ford Mustang started off tight but would build loose as green-flag laps continued. He told the team that he would fire off fine, but the balance of his racecar worsened after that.
● Under the lap-25 competition caution, the No. 41 team pitted for four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment to attempt to fix the balance of the racecar. Custer restarted 24th.
● As the remainder of the first stage went caution free, Custer began to fall back in the field as the balance on the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Greyhound Cocktail Ford Mustang loosened. He ultimately fell to 30th and was passed by the leaders, putting Custer one lap down as the stage came to an end.
● During the stage break, Custer told the team that his Ford Mustang was still extremely loose and the front turn wasn’t good. He pitted for four tires, fuel, wedge adjustments and air pressure adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Custer started 30th and finished 26th.
● The 23-year-old driver worked his way up to 26th by the time the caution came back out on lap 92. He reported that the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Greyhound Cocktail Ford Mustang was firing off tight and becoming loose after the initial few laps. Crew chief Mike Shiplett made the call to bring Custer down pit road for four tires, fuel and another shot at an adjustment.
● Custer reported on lap 123 that he felt like he was starting to lose right front grip a little too much as the sun started to set in Las Vegas.
● As the second stage also ended with another caution, Custer was relatively quiet on the radio. He was in 26th when the stage break caution came out on lap 160.
● Under yellow, Custer told the team that the rear grip in his Ford Mustang was good but that work was needed on right-front grip. He pitted for four fresh tires, fuel and another round of adjustments to combat a still loose racecar.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Custer started 25th and finished 29th.
● The No. 41 Dixie Vodka Greyhound Cocktail Ford Mustang started to run tight during the initial laps of the final stage. Shiplett told Custer to run his racecar up by the fence to see if that would help.
● As the stage continued, Custer reported that he started to have less rear grip as the sun went down over the track. The team brought their Ford Mustang down pit road on lap 206 for a green-flag stop to put on four fresh tires, fill up on fuel and make another air pressure adjustment.
● Custer reported that he still couldn’t turn the right front like he wanted. Ultimately, unable to overcome the racecar’s handling issue, he finished 29th, two laps down.

Notes:

● Denny Hamlin won the South Point 400 to score his 46th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Las Vegas. His margin over second-place Chase Elliott was .442 of a second.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Only 12 of the 38 drivers in the South Point 400 finished on the lead lap.

Cole Custer, driver of the No. 41 Dixie Vodka Greyhound Cocktail Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“Another rough race for our team. We struggled with the balance of our No. 41 Dixie Vodka Greyhound Cocktail Ford Mustang and just couldn’t get it right. We’ll head to Talladega.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, Oct. 3, at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It is the fifth race of the 10-race playoffs and the second race in the Round of 12. It starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Harvick Scores Another Top-10 at Las Vegas
Driver of No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford Mustang Finishes Ninth in South Point 400

Date: Sept. 26, 2021
Event: South Point 400 (Round 30 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)
Start/Finish: 5th / 9th (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Point Standing: 10th (3,036 points, seven points below top-eight cutoff)
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Kevin Harvick started fifth and finished eighth, earning three bonus points.
● After getting up to second place on the opening lap, the No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford Mustang dropped to 10th by lap seven.
● Harvick steadily rallied, clawing his way back to sixth by lap 13.
● “Need some rear grip, early center (of the corner) both ends (of the track),” said Harvick on lap 25 while running sixth.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 28 during competition caution. Gained one spot in the pits to restart in fifth place.
● Some contact with Matt DiBenedetto on lap 35 caused some slight right-front fender damage to the No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford.
● Harvick maintained fifth place until lap 55 when William Byron got by, sending Harvick to sixth.
● “Something’s not right here, Rodney,” said Harvick on lap 58 to crew chief Rodney Childers. “I think it’s the tire.”
● Dropped to seventh on lap 59 and then to eighth on lap 67. Held on to eighth through the end of the stage.
● Harvick said he needed his car to turn better late center exit.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with a track bar adjustment and tire pressure changes at the end of the stage.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Harvick started ninth and finished eighth, earning three bonus points.
● “Feel like I need it to turn mid-center, late-center better,” said Harvick while running eighth on lap 92.
● Harvick took advantage of caution and pitted for four tires and fuel on lap 93, with the pit crew working on that right-front fender.
● Lined up 14th for lap-99 restart and was 11th by lap 110.
● “Sideways all the sudden in traffic,” said Harvick on lap 122 after dropping back to 13th.
● Rallied to eighth at the end of the stage as Harvick was able to stay out on fuel mileage while others ahead of him were forced to pit.
● Pitted for four tires and fuel with a track bar adjustment at the end of the stage.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Harvick started sixth and finished ninth.
● The No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford Mustang had dropped to eighth by lap 177 as both Brad Keselowski and Kurt Busch got by.
● Byron passed Harvick on lap 187, taking eighth and sending Harvick to ninth.
● Ryan Blaney took ninth from Harvick on lap 197, sending Harvick to 10th.
● Made scheduled, green flag pit stop on lap 214 for four tires and fuel.
● Harvick was back up to 10th by lap 223. He took ninth on lap 224, eighth on lap 226 and then seventh on lap 229.
● Keselowsi took seventh place back on lap 250, sending Harvick to eighth.
● Busch nipped Harvick for eighth on the final lap and Harvick crossed the stripe in ninth.

Notes:

● Harvick earned his 20th top-10 of the season and his 13th top-10 in 25 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Las Vegas.
● Harvick’s 13 top-10s at Las Vegas are the most among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers.
● This was Harvick’s fourth straight top-10. He finished fifth Sept. 4 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, eighth Sept. 11 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway, and second in the series’ prior race at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway.
● This was Harvick’s 10th straight top-15, a streak that began July 11 with an 11th-place finish at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
● Denny Hamlin won the South Point 400 to score his 46th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Las Vegas. His margin over second-place Chase Elliott was .442 of a second.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Only 12 of the 38 drivers in the South Point 400 finished on the lead lap.

Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Subway Delivery Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“That was about what we had tonight. We got the right-front fender nicked up a little bit, but that didn’t really change the car, so we lucked out on that. We battle and gained ground on it. That is what we wanted to do – not give it all away today. We were able to gain ground and we’ll go from there.”

Playoff Standings (with two races to go before Round of 8):

1. Denny Hamlin (3,082 points) 1 win
2. Kyle Larson (3,096 points) +57
3. Kyle Busch (3,074 points) +35
4. Martin Truex Jr. (3,070 points) +31
5. Ryan Blaney (3,063 points) +24
6. Chase Elliott (3,061 points) +22
7. Joey Logano (3,045 points) +6
8. Brad Keselowski (3,043 points) +4
9. William Byron (3,039 points) -4
10. Kevin Harvick (3,036 points) -7
11. Alex Bowman (3,030 points) -13
12. Christopher Bell (3,018 points) -25

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, Oct. 3 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It is the fifth race of the 10-race playoffs and the second race in the Round of 12. It starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Austin Dillon and the No. 3 BetMGM Chevrolet Team Gamble on Strategy En Route to 13th-Place Finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Finish: 13th
Start: 15th
Points: 17th

“Good try tonight by everyone on the Richard Childress Racing team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The front end of our BetMGM Chevy was never really to my liking tonight. We were bouncing through Turn 2, but Justin Alexander and all of the guys made adjustments throughout the race to improve our handling issues. We just needed a little more a little earlier. In Stage 3, we were running 12th when we made the call to stay out and long pit. It was just a gamble to try and catch a caution and make something happen. We led laps and were in position but didn’t get the caution we needed. It was worth a shot. We ultimately finished 13th. We’re headed to Talladega Superspeedway next week, and we’ll do everything we can to try and snag a win.”

-Austin Dillon

Tyler Reddick Leads Laps and Impresses in No. 8 Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels Chevrolet at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Finish: 6th
Start: 13th
Points: 13th

“Our Cat Trials 11: Hot Wheels Chevrolet was extremely fast tonight at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. I knew having speed in the car when the sun went down was going to be a key to finishing well. The track definitely tightened up as time went on, and I could feel it in our No. 8 Camaro. My crew chief, Randall Burnett, kept up with the changing track conditions though and we were able to post top-three laps times consistently. I think at worst we were a third-place car, and should have been competing for the win at the end. There weren’t a ton of cautions during the race and unfortunately waiting just a couple of laps from when the No. 11 pitted from the lead cost us valuable track position. A sixth-place finish is still a great night for our Richard Childress Racing team and we will now turn our focus to Talladega.”

-Tyler Reddick

Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry
Race Recap for the South Point 400

Date: Sept. 26, 2021
Event: South Point 400 (Round 30 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)
Start/Finish: 10th/3rd (Running, completed 267 of 267 laps)
Point Standing: 3rd (3,074 points, 35 points ahead of the top-8 cutoff)
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Kyle Busch started 10th and finished second, earning nine bonus points.
● The M&M’S driver started 10th, but he picked off several spots right off the bat. Busch was in fourth by lap two and up to third by the time the competition yellow waved on lap 25.
● The Las Vegas native came to pit road on lap 27 to take on four tires, fuel and an air pressure adjustment. The M&M’S over-the-wall team gained Busch two spots coming off pit road to assume his first lead of the day.
● Busch eventually settled into the second position, where he ended Stage 1.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Busch started seventh and finished second, earning nine bonus points.
● The Las Vegas native came to pit road following the stage for tires, fuel and adjustments, but an issue with the jack getting on the peg dropped him to seventh coming off pit road.
● Busch radioed to the No. 18 team just five laps into the run, telling them he felt a loose wheel on the left side and may need to pit. When the caution came out just a few laps later for an accident, the M&M’S team was able to come down pit road to remedy the situation with a change of all four tires on lap 94.
● The two-time Cup Series champion restarted 12th on lap 98. He slowly worked his way toward the front of the field, entering the top-five by lap 114 and reaching third on lap 117.
● Busch moved up to second behind JGR teammate Denny Hamlin to finish the segment, earning more valuable stage points in the championship battle.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Busch started fourth and finished third.
● The M&M’S driver came to pit road following Stage 2, with crew chief Ben Beshore calling for four tires, fuel and a trackbar adjustment to loosen up the No. 18’s tight-handling condition.
● Busch restarted fourth for the final stage and had settled into the fifth position by lap 189.
● Busch sat near the top-five until his final pit stop of the race, which came on lap 210. The M&M’S driver came to pit road in sixth place under green, but when things cycled out he found himself in fourth and chasing down JGR teammate Martin Truex Jr. for the third position as the laps wound down.
● The Las Vegas native finally got by Truex on lap 243 to bring home a third-place finish and strong points position heading into the unknown of Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway next weekend.

Notes:

● Busch’s third-place finish is his 12th top-five finish of 2021.
● Busch now has nine top-five finishes in 21 starts at his hometown track in Las Vegas.
● Hamlin won the South Point 400 to score his 46th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Las Vegas. His margin over second-place Chase Elliott was .442 of a second.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Only 12 of the 38 drivers in the South Point 400 finished on the lead lap.

Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 M&M’S Toyota Camry for Joe Gibbs Racing:

Was tonight a night where you did what you needed to do?

“Certainly you want to win, but we maximized today the best we had. The 11 (Denny Hamlin) was better than us. I thought early when the sun was out we were better than him, but once the lights turned on we kind of lost a little bit and we got ran into the wall twice off of turn two. That doesn’t help things. Guys did a great job. Thanks to Ben (Beshore, crew chief) and all the guys on our M&M’S Toyota Camry, we were fast, we were frontrunners all night long. Just wasn’t able to get everything we needed today for a win. Thanks to Rowdy Energy, TRD, Interstate Batteries, Ethel M here from Las Vegas. See what happens next week.”

What will be your mood leaving Las Vegas tonight?

“We got all we could. I felt like during the daytime we were a little bit better than the 11 (Hamlin). We could race with him. I felt like I was looking forward to the lights coming on and us picking up speed and being able to rip the wall a little bit faster. When we got hit into the fence there off of (turn) two the first time, it definitely knocked speed out of our car. We helped it a little bit coming to pit road putting the last set of tires on it, and then I got into the fence again trying to get by a lapped car. Not enough room over there, I guess. Overall, great job by Ben (Beshore) and my guys on this M&M’S Camry. They gave me a good piece. We moved forward all day long, so that was good, and just appreciate TRD and Interstate Batteries, Rowdy Energy and Ethel M for being here from Las Vegas, and all of those guys were here today. Good showing.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, Oct. 3, at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It is the fifth race of the 10-race playoffs and the second race in the Round of 12. It starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

Almirola Finishes 19th at Vegas
Mobil 1 Ford Driver Earns Eighth Top-20 at Vegas

Date: Sept. 26, 2021
Event: South Point 400 (Round 30 of 36)
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Las Vegas Motor Speedway (1.5-mile oval)
Format: 267 laps, broken into three stages (80 laps/80 laps/107 laps)
Start/Finish: 17th / 19th (Running, completed 266 of 267 laps)
Point Standing: 15th with 2,093 points
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Kyle Larson of Hendrick Motorsports (Chevrolet)
Stage 2 Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)

Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-80):

● Aric Almirola started 17th and finished 21st.
● The Mobil 1 Ford team failed technical inspection before the start of the race, so the No. 10 had to start at the rear of the field.
● Almirola raced to 25th by the lap-25 competition caution.
● The Mobil 1 Ford driver radioed loose-handling conditions throughout the stage.
● He began to find more speed toward the end of the stage and raced to 21st.
● Almirola pitted at the end of the stage for four tires, fuel and chassis and air pressure adjustments.

Stage 2 Recap (Laps 81-160):

● Almirola started 24th and finished 11th.
● The No. 10 team was handed a penalty during their pit stop for equipment interference and was forced to restart at the tail of the field.
● Almirola raced to 21st before a lap-92 caution. He reported a vibration and pitted for four tires under caution.
● The Mobil 1 Ford driver battled his way to the top-15 by lap 137 and raced just outside the top-10 before the stage ended.
● Almirola said the balance of his car was close but needed more grip. He pitted at the end of the stage for four fresh tires, fuel and air pressure adjustments.
● A quick pit stop from the Mobil 1 pit crew advanced Almirola to the eighth position.

Final Stage Recap (Laps 161-267):

● Almirola started eighth and finished 19th.
● Though Almirola started inside the top-10, he quickly fell outside of the top-20 and radioed to the team on lap 180 that the changes made “killed” the balance.
● He pitted from 20th on lap 211 for four tires and fuel.
● Almirola was scored a lap down and raced his way back to the top-20 before the checkered flag waved.

Notes:

● Denny Hamlin won the South Point 400 to score his 46th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his first at Las Vegas. His margin over second-place Chase Elliott was .442 of a second.
● There were four caution periods for a total of 21 laps.
● Only 12 of the 38 drivers in the South Point 400 finished on the lead lap.

Aric Almirola, driver of the No. 10 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

“We found really good speed and balance in our Mobil 1 Ford halfway through the race today and were good enough to race inside the top-10. Then we made one small adjustment, and something just flipped a switch and our balance was way off. We’ll move on to Talladega where we’ve had a lot of success. Excited to get there and compete for a win.”

Next Up:

The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, Oct. 3, at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway. It is the fifth race of the 10-race playoffs and the second race in the Round of 12. It starts at 2 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by NBC and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

NASCAR CUP SERIES
LAS VEGAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY
SOUTH POINT 400
TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES & QUOTES
SEPTEMBER 26, 2021

TOP TEAM CHEVY UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
2nd CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
6th TYLER REDDICK, NO. 8 CAT TRIAL 11:HOT WHEELS CAMARO ZL1 1LE
8th KURT BUSCH, NO. 1 MONSTER ENERGY CAMARO ZL1 1LE
10th KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 TARLTON AND SON CAMARO ZL1 ILE
13th AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1 1LE

TOP FIVE UNOFFICIAL RACE RESULTS:
POS. DRIVER
1st Denny Hamlin (Toyota)
2nd Chase Elliott (Chevrolet)
3rd Kyle Busch (Toyota)
4th Martin Truex, Jr. (Toyota)
5th Ryan Blaney (Ford)

The NASCAR Cup Series season continues next weekend at Talladega Superspeedway for the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, October 3, at 2 p.m. ET. Live coverage can be found on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90.

TEAM CHEVY POST-RACE NOTES AND QUOTES:

CHASE ELLIOTT, NO. 9 NAPA AUTO PARTS CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 2nd
CHASE, A STRONG NIGHT FOR SURE, BUT SECOND PLACE. I KNOW THAT’S NOT WHERE YOU WANTED TO BE. TELL US ABOUT THE FINAL FIVE LAPS.
“We were really close, just not quite close enough. Denny (Hamlin) did a good job of controlling the gap to me. He was having a hard time with the 21 (Ryan Blaney). I think he was doing a good job of giving himself enough room to him to be able to work the lanes, kind of control the gap back to me.”

“Super close. Really proud of our NAPA team. Feel like we’ve been performing at a really nice level the last three or four weeks, we just haven’t had great results to show for it. Proud of the effort tonight. Looking forward to the next two. Going to be wild. Looking forward to it.”

HOW WERE YOU ABLE TO MAKE YOUR CAR THE BEST AT THE END?
“That’s a really good question. Obviously circumstances kind of went our way. We were able to get back on the lead lap when that cycle stopped. We were there in the middle with those guys making it on fuel. We were on the fortunate end because we got back on the lead lap, didn’t have to wave or get the Lucky Dog.”

“We just kept tuning on it, felt like we really needed a little track position.”

MAKE IT ANY EASIER FOR YOU GOING TO TALLADEGA NEXT WEEK?
“I don’t know that it ever gets easy going there. The last Daytona race, I felt like that’s the best we’ve been at a speedway since I’ve been at HMS. I’m really proud of that.”

“Hopefully we can have that type of pace and car when we go to Talladega. If that’s the case, it will be a lot more fun, doesn’t mean you won’t crash, but could be more fun so I’m excited.”

KYLE LARSON, NO. 5 TARLTON AND SON CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 10th
“We stayed out and had to do the wave around. I wasn’t on fresh tires and stuck in traffic. Everyone is fighting so hard back there to run their race that I just got kind of stuck. Not beat around, but just stuck and having to race. It’s just hard.”

“We were able to fight back for a top-10 and come away with an OK finish.”

IS IT SOMETIMES HARD TO KNOW WHAT TO DO IN TRAFFIC OR HOW HARD YOU CAN PUSH IT?
“(Ryan) Blaney got through there better. I got stuck around the No. 42 (Ross Chastain), so he was able to get clear and get away and have a good finish. Just being on older tires and having to battle through all of them was difficult. You forget how hard everybody races back there; it’s pretty wild. There were moments where I thought I was going to end up crashed or get frustrate and run myself into the wall. But we were able to mentally fight through it and come away with a top-10.”

YOU’RE 57 POINTS ABOVE THE CUTLINE. THAT’S STILL A PRETTY GOOD CUSHION AND RESULT FOR THE DAY.
“Yeah, it’s good that I didn’t let my emotions get the best of me and make my day even worse. It’s good to go to Talladega (Superspeedway) and be that far up. I would have liked to have been up more. I feel like we gave up at least 15 points today with the second stage. That’s a bummer, but we’ll fight through it and hopefully avoid issues at Talladega.”

AUSTIN DILLON, NO. 3 BETMGM CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 13th
“Good try tonight by everyone on the Richard Childress Racing team at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The front end of our Chevy was never really to my liking tonight. We were bouncing through Turn 2, but Justin Alexander and all of the guys made adjustments throughout the race to improve our handling issues. We just needed a little more a little earlier. In Stage 3, we were running 12th when we made the call to stay out and long pit. It was just a gamble to try and catch a caution and make something happen. We led laps and were in position but didn’t get the caution we needed. It was worth a shot. We ultimately finished 13th. We’re headed to Talladega Superspeedway next week, and we’ll do everything we can to try and snag a win.”

WILLIAM BYRON, NO. 24 AXALTA/SERVICE KING CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 18th
WILLIAM BYRON AND HIS NO. 24 TEAM HAD JUST A BIT OF BAD LUCK THERE WITH THE CUT TIRE THERE AT THE END. HOW WOULD YOU ASSESS YOUR RACE TO THAT POINT?
“I thought we were really fast. We came from the back to the front, took the lead and then obviously had that caution. I chose the wrong lane there and had to run second there for awhile to Kyle. And then we had the strategy deal with not being able to make it on fuel and had to recover from that. We had to take two tires and that hurt us. We were able to drive all the way back to the front from the back again, so that was twice today. And then we had the flat tire.”

“We had an awesome car. The No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet was amazing. I think it was right there with the No. 11 (Denny Hamlin). We’ll just have to keep bringing that speed.”

THE GUYS IN THE BOOTH SAID GOING TO TALLADEGA, THEY WOULD RATHER BE WAY AHEAD OR WAY BEHIND. THEY WOULDN’T WANT TO BE IN THERE IN THAT MIDDLE GROUND. UNFORTUANTLEY, THAT’S WHERE YOU FIND YOURSELF. JUST FOUR POINTS BELOW THE CUTLINE. WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MENTALITY WILL BE AS YOU HEAD TO THAT SUPERSPEEDWAY?
“Just be aggressive. I was aggressive all day today and passed a ton of cars. Just be as aggressive as I’ve been on the speedways in the past. We won a race on a superspeedway last year and I feel like we can do it again. The (Charlotte) ROVAL is a good track for us too, so we’ll see what happens.”

ALEX BOWMAN, NO. 48 ALLY CAMARO ZL1 1LE – Finished 22nd
“We weren’t great. The stage two strategy just didn’t work out for us and it put us in a tough spot there to start stage three. The valve stem got knocked off on a pit stop and the rest is history. Not a good day on any aspects. We had a decent car, we just didn’t have the pit road and strategy we needed.”

Team Chevy high-resolution racing photos are available for editorial use.

About Chevrolet
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world’s largest car brands, available in 79 countries with more than 3.2 million cars and trucks sold in 2020. Chevrolet models include electric and fuel-efficient vehicles that feature engaging performance, design that makes the heart beat, passive and active safety features and easy-to-use technology, all at a value. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

HAMLIN CLINCHES HIS SPOT IN THE NEXT ROUND WITH CLUTCH LAS VEGAS WIN
Toyota Camrys Claim Three of the Top-Four Spots in Vegas

LAS VEGAS (September 26, 2021) – Denny Hamlin won the South Point 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday evening. With the win, Hamlin has clinched his spot in the Round of 8. Hamlin was joined inside the top-five by his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch (third) and Martin Truex Jr. (fourth).

Toyota Post-Race Recap
NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Race 30 of 36 – 267 laps, 400.5 miles

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS
1st, DENNY HAMLIN
2nd, Chase Elliott*
3rd, KYLE BUSCH
4th, MARTIN TRUEX JR.
5th, Ryan Blaney*
16th, BUBBA WALLACE
24th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
38th, JJ YELEY
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

DENNY HAMLIN, No. 11 FedEx Office Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 1st

How excited are you to score this win and move on to the round of 8?

“So happy for our FedEx Office Toyota team. Joe Gibbs Racing just gives us great race cars. That’s what I’m so proud of is to drive for those guys. Can’t thank them enough for everything they do. It feels so good to win in Vegas. Last couple times I’ve been so close, just didn’t have the right breaks. They dialed the car in great. Great to hold those guys off.”

Do you feel a sense of relief to move on into the next round?

“It does. Especially with this crazy round coming up. We’ve just done a great job on this race track and getting it a lot better for me over the course of my career. 14 years of not really being that good. Chris (Gabehart, crew chief) and the whole FedEx team have been great – great ride with them. We’ve added another trophy to the trophy case and now we get to go and worry about the next round.”

How much were you working on this car?

“The last few laps it faded a little bit – getting a little tight, but overall I thought in the long run it was pretty good. It’s something that we really studied and worked on it, and glad all that hard work is paying off.”

How good do you feel going into Talladega?

“I feel so good. I can’t tell you how good these next two weeks are going to be.”

KYLE BUSCH, No. 18 M&M’s Ethel M Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 3rd

Was tonight a night where you did what you needed to do or a frustrating night?

“Certainly you want to win, but we maximized today the best we had. The 11 (Denny Hamlin) was better than us. I thought early when the sun was out we were better than him, but once the lights turned on we kind of lost a little bit and we got ran into the wall twice off of turn two, that doesn’t help things. Guys did a great job. Thanks to Ben (Beshore, crew chief) and all the guys on our M&M’s Toyota Camry, we were fast, we were front runners all night long. Just wasn’t able to get everything we needed today to for a win. Thanks to Rowdy Energy, TRD, Interstate Batteries, Ethel M here from Las Vegas. See what happens next week.”

What will be your mood leaving Las Vegas tonight?

“We got all we could. I felt like during the daytime, we were a little bit better than the 11 (Denny Hamlin). We could race with him. I felt like I was looking forward to the lights coming on and us picking up speed and being able to rip the wall a little bit faster. When we got hit into the fence there off of (turn) two the first time, it definitely knocked speed out of our car. We helped it a little bit coming to pit road putting the last set of tires on it and then I got into the fence again trying to get by a lapped car. Not enough room over there I guess. Overall, great job by Ben (Beshore, crew chief) and my guys on this M&M’s Camry. They gave me a good piece. We moved forward all day long so that was good and just appreciate TRD and Interstate Batteries, Rowdy Energy and Ethel M for being here from Las Vegas and all of those guys were here today. Good showing.”

What does it do for you mentally to be above the cut line going to Talladega next week?

“I don’t know. I’ve said it and I’ll say it all the time, if you can go to Talladega and you can come out of there with a 12th place finish with no stage points, that’s a successful day. I’ll take that right now if I could skip it.”

MARTIN TRUEX JR., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota Camry, Joe Gibbs Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

Did you have anything for the top-three in the closing laps?

“No, that was all we could do. Just missed it. Our Bass Pro Camry was off just a little bit all day. We could never get turn four to do what I needed it to do and then the long runs I’d get really, really tight and it would quit turning. I feel like we kind of overachieved. I don’t know that we were the fourth-best car and we got fourth, so overall, happy with the execution. We did everything right. We just didn’t quite have the speed we needed.”

Where were you off compared to your teammates?

“We just could never get the balance quite right. We were really struggling off of turn four, no matter what we did. Not sure exactly why. It’s not something that we’ve had here in the past. Defintiely something going on there that we couldn’t fix. We tried a lot. We made a lot of adjustments. James (Small, crew chief) and the guys did a really good job executing and we got all we could out of it. The Bass Pro Toyota was a little bit off tonight. I wish we could have been a little bit better, but all-in-all to grind out a fourth with that car is a good effort.”

Did the adjustments James made to the car work?

“Yes and no. We made slight progresss on it. Our biggest problem was turn four. No matter what we did we were fighting the same thing. Just struggled there a bit. We are trying to figure out and see how we could be better. All-in-all, a good night. Nothing bad happened to us. Everybody did a good job. We will cross our fingers, cross our toes, do some praying this week and go to Talladega and see what happens.”

Do you have enough of a points cushion to sleep easy this week?

“Yeah, it is what it is. We are going to go there and race and whatever happens, happens. I’m going to sleep just fine. I’m going to go do some fishing this week – it should be fun, and we will be ready to go come Sunday.”

About Toyota

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Ford Performance Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series — South Point 400
Las Vegas Motor Speedway | Sunday, September 26, 2021

FORD FINISHING RESULTS
5th – Ryan Blaney
7th – Brad Keselowski
9th – Kevin Harvick
11th – Joey Logano
12th – Matt DiBenedetto
14th – Chase Briscoe
19th – Aric Almirola
20th – Ryan Newman
21st – Michael McDowell
25th – Chris Buescher
27th – Anthony Alfredo
29th – Cole Custer
33rd – BJ McLeod
36th – Josh Bilicki

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Menards/Knauf Insulation Ford Mustang — FINISHED 5th

“I thought a couple of cars were a little quicker than us. We got behind the eight-ball a little bit there in that second stage having to pit at the end and take the wave around. That hurt us. We had a fast enough Menards Ford Mustang to finish fifth. That is something to be proud of. We will go on to Talladega.”

UNUSUAL CIRCUMSTANCES EARLY ON WITH YOUR COOL SUIT NOT WORKING, DID YOU EVER GET IT FIXED? “Yeah, not really. It was warm. It was my first time trying this and figures it didn’t work.”

NEXT WEEKEND AT TALLADEGA, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT HEADING THERE? “Just want to have a solid race like normal, run up front, do well in the stages and try to win the race and survive. That is everyone’s goal and I think we can do that.”

BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 2 Autotrader Ford Mustang — FINISHED 7th

“It wasn’t a bad night. We executed really, really well and made the most of what we had. That was just all we had. We just kind of rode in 10th to 15th most of the day and at one point we got up to 7th or 8th but couldn’t really hold it. At the end we just really executed really well. The pit stops were great. The pit calls were good. No loose wheels or any troubles and we were able to get a solid day out of it to get ourselves a little cushion.”

KEVIN HARVICK, No. 4 Subway Ford Mustang — FINISHED 9th

“You know, it was about where we finished. That was about what we had tonight. We got the right-front fender nicked up a little bit but that didn’t really change the car so we lucked out on that. We battle and gained ground on it. That is what we wanted to do, not give it all away today. We were able to gain ground and we will go from there.”

YOU GUYS WERE JUST STEADY. THAT IS PART OF IT, RIGHT? “Yeah, that is. We knew this would be our biggest challenge. As we came here the first time and were able to run better this time it was definitely an improvement, so that is a good thing.”

WHY WAS THIS ONE GOING TO BE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGE? “We just ran so bad here in the spring. Our speedway stuff has been fine. Just talking about speed. You can wreck with the slowest car or the fastest car at Talladega. It doesn’t matter there.”

JOEY LOGANO, No. 22 Pennzoil Ford Mustang — FINISHED 11th

“We were better in the daytime for sure. Unfortunately in the daytime, we didn’t capitalize in the first stage with having a loose wheel and starting in the back after that in that stage. We were able to drive back through the field and that was our best run. It seemed like as the track cooled off we lost speed to the field for multiple reasons. That last run we had another issue with the wheel. It was a poorly executed day with a car that probably should have finished fifth in both stages and maybe a top-10 or so at the end. But instead, we are not out. We are six points to the good. We are ahead of where we were when we came in, I just wanted to be more comfortable than that.”